Some weeks ago my left/rear tire went flat. When I removed it to have it patched, I noticed that the wear was uneven. So when I brought my 08 in today for other things, I told them about what I'd seen and asked for an alignment. The alignment report mentioned a few fixes in the front, but I also noted this: Rear-Toe-Left: Initial: 0.33 degrees Specifications: .03 to .28 degrees (min-max) Final: 0.31 degrees. Still out of spec. Now, as this is the very wheel I'd mentioned about the uneven wear, should I raise this issue? The other numbers:
my daughters 04 went thru the right rear tire in 15,000 miles. you have to rotate frequently i guess. i have read here that it is difficult if not impossible to properly shift the rear wheels.
They've been rotated every 5k miles. The issue wasn't that the tire was worn, but that the tread was worn unevenly--more wear on the outside.
Ideally, you would want the rear toe to be about 0.15° each side. That is what I have now after shimming the right rear to correct from 0.40° to 0.15° to match the other side. The dealer won't do this because it is not a factory authorized repair. You might be able to find an independent alignment shop to shim it for you. I installed the shim myself, then had the alignment rechecked to verify it fixed the problem.
My issue here is, what's the point in their agreeing to do an alignment--and I reported the problem was in the rear--if they won't actually align the rear?
Excellent question. Before you have the alignment done, I suggest you ask whether the shop has the ability to adjust the rear alignment, or is it just going to report the existing alignment without correcting it. Usually a specialist alignment shop will insert shims to adjust the rear suspension. If you can get the rear toe-in reduced, that might slightly improve your mpg.
i just got oil change on 2006 and rear wheel alignment was suggested based on tire wear patterns which is fine as i had planned a 4 wheel alignment anyway when getting tire replaced. right now, just looking at where to get them done. at 48,000 on the OEM tires, its time
I suppose these are what my questions are: 1) should they have told me "all right, you have uneven wear on your left rear tire. Be aware that we can't actually do anything about that" rather than stay silent and take my money. The uneven wear was the whole reason I requested an alignment--as I told them. If they aren't able to actually address the issue I brought up, shouldn't they have told me I was wasting $130 for something that wouldn't actually be addressed? 2) are the out-of-spec numbers for the rear something I should be expected to accept? I don't understand the reason for having a spec range if they can't actually perform work to get you back in it. 3) would those outside-spec numbers explain the tire wear?
1) Yes, you are right, and $130 is a lot to pay for a two-wheel alignment. 2) According to Toyota's repair philosophy, if the rear alignment is out of spec then you should replace the beam rear axle. MSRP is $1,238 for the axle assembly and you would probably be charged 3 labor hours on top of that, once your car is out of warranty. However, it makes no sense to replace the rear axle for $1,600 if you can have shims installed for <$100. Even if the shim solution was not available, it makes no sense to spend $1,600 to fix a tire treadwear problem - you can buy many tires for that amount. 3) Excessive toe on the LR tire would help to explain why the treadwear is uneven.
I believe the wheel alignment warranty is 1 year or 20K miles; you can look this up in the warranty book.
I think he was referring to the rear axle. good question, i dont know. my passenger side rear is also off a little bit. when i got new tires the shop noted it, but said it was not excessive and that they didnt have shims to fix it anyhow. Next time i need an alignment i am going to take it to the dealer and see what they say about the situation. Then i guess i will try and find a specialty shop that shims.
